MIA welcomes Gove’s music education commitment

The Music Industries Association, which represents music instrument sellers, has cautiously welcomed a government review of music education and the response of the Tory’s freakish education man Michael Gove, who has pledged £82.5 million to fund instrument tuition for school children.

Gove made the announcement alongside the publication of the Henley Review, the previously reported government review of music education led by Classic FM boss Darren Henley. Gove said yesterday: “Access to the best musical education is not universal and the opportunity to benefit from great instrumental tuition is not shared equally. Many disadvantaged children are denied the music education they deserve. And that’s why we need to bridge this musical divide. All young people should have the chance to benefit from the opportunities that music can bring – not simply those pupils from wealthy backgrounds whose parents can afford to pay for lessons”.

Paul McManus, the boss of the MIA, told CMU: “It is extremely encouraging to read the continuing supportive comments being made by Michael Gove concerning the importance of music education for a child and the wide-ranging benefits it brings to a child’s development. The Review itself is very positive and highlights a large number of areas that the MIA would whole-heartedly endorse, including the specific recommendation to maintain music in the National Curriculum and the additional requirement to maintain the statutory entitlement for a child to learn a musical instrument. The MIA naturally looks forward to the government response to the Review and will offer all support to both government and the educational sector to realise the aspirations of the report”.

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